C15: from Old French decerner, from Latin dēcernere to judge, from cernere to discern
decern in American English
(dɪˈsɜːrn)
intransitive verb
1. Scots Law
to enter a judicial decree
transitive verb
2. archaic
to discern
Word origin
[1400–50; late ME decernen to decide ‹ OF decerner ‹ L dēcernere, equiv. to dē-de- + cernere to separate, decide]This word is first recorded in the period 1400–50. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: curl, mature, oblique, separate, unionde- is a prefix occurring in loanwords from Latin (decide); also used to indicate privation, removal, and separation (dehumidify), negation (demerit; derange), descent (degrade; deduce), reversal (detract), or intensity (decompound)